Mike Johnson should be threatened with removal as house speaker--by Democrats

Democrats saved his ass--rightly, to get Ukraine aid--but now he's using his perch as speaker to attack our judicial system on behalf of Trump. Any House member can file a motion to vacate.

Mike Johnson defended Donald Trump in his impeachment trial after Trump inspired a violent attack on the Capitol. And Johnson led a ridiculous but dangerous lawsuit on behalf of the state of Texas—scorched by legal scholars—to overturn the 2020 election.

Nonetheless, Democrats saved the Christian nationalist and insurrection supporter from Marjorie Taylor Greene’s motion to vacate two weeks ago. After lots of pressure, they’d gotten Johnson to agree on having a vital vote on Ukraine aid, which passed, and, in return, they voted overwhelmingly to table the motion-to-vacate.

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I supported that action, as we all wanted to stand up to the Moscow Marjorie and the Putin Caucus. Some Democrats voted present, however, because, as one of them, Congressman Mark Pocan of Wisconsin, explained on my SiriusXM program, they couldn’t stomach voting to support the radical anti-LGBTQ Johnson, and they also didn’t want to vote with the extremist Greene.

I respect that, and I also respect those Democrats who voted no. The leadership had enough votes to table the vote, sparing more chaos in the House and following through on their word after Johnson allowed the Ukraine vote.

But it did all happen rather quickly. No sooner did Greene introduce her bill did the vote to table happen, and Johnson was saved. It was a matter of minutes when Democrats should have let the Republicans hang a bit and understand the value of what they were doing. Also, they should have gotten more out of Johnson—and perhaps they did in the form of legislation—that included not having him stand against our democracy and attacking our criminal justice system.

Because that’s exactly what he did this week in defending Donald Trump outside of New York criminal court, joining an entourage of “surrogates,” as Trump called them, who helped Trump violate his gag order by having others speak for him. Like other politicians who attended, Johnson, as house speaker, extraordinarily attacked the trial, the judge, his daughter (who works in Democratic politics), the district attorney, and our entire legal system. As the AP put it:

It was a remarkable moment in modern American politics: the House speaker amplifying Trump’s defense and turning the Republican Party against the federal and state legal systems that are foundational to the U.S. government and a cornerstone of democracy.

Johnson, who is second in line for the presidency, called the court system “corrupt.”

Outside the New York courthouse, he decried “this ridiculous prosecution that is not about justice.” He said, “It’s all about politics.”

The attacks on the judge, the DA, and the judge's daughter (who isn’t working on anything with regard to Trump or this case), were particularly grotesque and dangerous—and the gag on Trump was put in place for that reason—as they inspire death threats and potential violence in the current political atmosphere.

The attacks on the rule of law are unprecedented for a house speaker, who shouldn’t even be in New York speaking at a press conference for the presidential candidate he’s backing, attacking our judicial system. He should be in Washington trying to get the dysfunctional GOP-led Congress to do some work after Democrats saved him from losing his job.

Now that Johnson has gone there, some Democrats are saying they won’t save him again if there is another motion to vacate, something that Marjorie Taylor Greene surely could try again. Per Axios:

Between the lines: One senior House Democrat told Axios, "It's pretty clear that our preset position is [saving Johnson] was a one-time circumstance because Ukraine funding was so critical."

"We didn't want to put him in a position where he paid a price for doing the right thing ... but he could pay a price for doing the wrong thing," the lawmaker said.

"Inserting himself into the president's criminal trial, it's unprecedented for a sitting speaker of the House of Representatives."

What they're saying: Rep. Annie Kuster (D-N.H.), the chair of the center-left New Democrat Coalition told Axios that "probably our patience will wear thin if he needs us."

Others disagree:

The other side: Some moderate Democrats argue that a vote to table is bigger than Mike Johnson.

"We want to keep the extremists from running the Republican Party," said Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.), adding that "Democrats will take every issue as it comes, but if he continues to work with us on a bipartisan basis, we'll work with him."

Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) had a blunter, more political assessment of Johnson's actions: "What choice does he have? I mean come on ... if Donald Trump comes out and says he should go, he'll be gone."

But doing work in the house on bills “on a bipartisan basis” shouldn’t be enough to save Mike Johnson’s ass, because standing up for the rule of law should be a bedrock bipartisan principle as well.

Democrats too often try to position themselves as being above the fray, and it gets them nowhere. Right now, we're dealing with extremists who are using hidous tactics to undermine our government and to help put an authoritarian in the White House who launched a violent attack on the Capitol.

Democrats need to get tough with Johnson, who is taking his orders from Trump. Any member, including any Democrat, can introduce a motion to vacate. Democratic leaders should send a strong message to Johnson that if he engages in this kind of demagoguery and undermines faith in the legal system, it’s a dealbreaker that not only will not have Democrats saving him from Greene, but might have them pulling the trigger themselves.